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Does your body have an energy flow and will it make you a better runner?

In an article posted on the Huffington Post, columnist Michael Boblett seeks to describe a recent trend called “Chi Running.” According to Boblett, when all is going right, your body is a “superb shock absorber.” He writes that the body is made up of interrelated parts that work together to transfer shock waves up from the feet, to the ankles, to the hips, and then ending at the spine. If the system is working correctly, this transfer of energy is a seamless flow. If it doesn’t, if there is a blockage, that may cause an injury.

So where does “Chi Running” come in?

Boblett says Chi Running can best be explained as follows: “We move like people who grew up barefoot.”

Going barefoot “changes everything,” he writes. “The feet open up. The toes start to do their job. The knees relax. The hips rock correctly. The spine becomes more pliant. The head lifts up.”

“Chi” in Chinese culture is defined as “life energy.” If you can get your body to follow the flow, you are, in Boblett’s words, “more likely to do great things.”